A CHINESE takeaway is facing fines of up to £140,000 after seven people were arrested by immigration officials.

The Home Office swooped on the Szechaun Inn on Bean Oak Road, Wokingham, at 6.40pm on Wednesday, September 30.

Five men and two women were taken to immigration detention where they are awaiting deportation from the country.

Carla Johnson, head of the South Central Home Office Immigration Enforcement team, said: “There will be no slowdown in our efforts to tackle illegal working in Berkshire.

"Using illegal labour is not a victimless crime. It defrauds the treasury of much needed funds, undercuts businesses who ply an honest trade and cheats legitimate job seekers out of employment opportunities. 

“There are simple checks employers can carry out to ensure their employees have the right to work in the UK. Those who choose to ignore the rules will face the consequences. 

“I would urge people with detailed and specific information about suspected immigration abuse to contact us."

The arrests were made after immigration officials quizzed staff at the restaurant.

The takeaway, rated four-and-a-half stars on TripAdvisor, was served a notice warning that the business could face fines of £20,000 per illegal worker unless it can prove that the necessary document checks to confirm the employees could legally work in this country, were carried out.

A pair of Malaysian men, 29 and 44, were found to have overstayed their six-month visitor entitlement.

A 23-year-old Indonesian man, who had overstayed his multi-visit visa, a 43-year-old Indonesian man working in breach of his multi-visit visa and a 30-year-old Indonesian man, who had overstayed his multi-visit business visa, were also detained.

Two Indonesian women, aged 23 and 25, were both detained for overstaying their multi-visit visas.